Tai Chi, Qigong and the Treatment of Cancer

Qigong has been a part of traditional Chinese medicine [TCM] for thousands of years. Tai chi is a more recent addition to the TCM toolbox. They have been used to treat a wide variety of illnesses. In recent decades they have also been employed to alleviate or reduce the adverse side-effects of chemotherapy and other western medical treatments for cancer and other diseases. Thousands of medical studies have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of these treatments on a wide range of illnesses. This paper reports on or summarizes dozens of studies where tai chi and/or qigong have been used to reduce or alleviate the adverse side-effects that result from surgery, chemotherapy, and other treatments for cancer. A qigong or tai chi regimen can often reduce fatigue, insomnia, dyspnea, numbness, heartburn, dizziness, psychological distress, cognitive impairment, heart rate variability, recovery time, nausea, pain, discomfort, anxiety and depression, and can increase bone density, self-efficacy, muscular strength, immune function, longevity, ambulatory stability, joint flexibility, and the overall quality of life.


Introduction
Qigong exercises have been practiced for thousands of years to maintain health [1,2]. Although primarily intended to prevent a wide range of illnesses, they are also used by medical practitioners to alleviate pain, discomfort, and various side-effects that result from the treatment of various diseases and illnesses . Entire hospitals in China are devoted to the use of qigong to treat disease.
Qigong is a subset of tai chi, which is a Chinese martial art as well Participants were also asked to stand on one leg and were timed to determine balance. No significant differences were found among the three groups for the lumbar spine, femoral neck, total hip and total radius (BMD) tests. However, the breast cancer group that practiced qigong exercises outperformed the breast cancer group that did not perform qigong exercises by 27.3 percent in the oneleg stand test (P=0.025) and had better scores in self-efficacy (P=0.006). The number of falls experienced by the three groups was about the same. The study concluded that qigong exercises might be used to improve balance performance and balance selfefficacy of breast cancer survivors. Lee,et al. [50] studied the effect of Chan-Chuang qigong on 67 women in Taipei, Taiwan who were experiencing psychological and symptoms distress who were receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer as outpatients. The experimental group practiced Chan-Chuang qigong for 15 to 60 minutes a day for the first 21 days of chemotherapy treatment, while the control group did not practice qigong at all. The authors described the process as follows:

Breast Cancer
"The practice of Chan-Chuang qigong follows a sequence of nine steps: (1) stand with feet shoulder-width apart and bend the knees slightly as if holding a volleyball; (2) raise the arms to a height over the breasts but under the shoulders as if holding a tree trunk; (3) palms face inward with fingers apart as if holding a ball; (4) relax the shoulders in the stationary stance; (5) open the eyes half, look straight forward and keep the mind tranquil; (6) breathe naturally; (7) maintain the posture and breathe for 15 minutes; (8) stand straight up slowly, place the hands to the waists gently and rest at the same site for 2-3 minutes and (9) place the right hand on the heart and the left hand on the navel for a moment and stop. In order to prevent any potentially negative influences on appetite and digestion, Chan-Chuang qigong was forbidden 30 minutes before and after a meal. Any sites indoor or outdoor with sunlight and fresh air are suitable for practicing. Patients were asked to practice at least 15 minutes, but no more than 1 hour a time [50]." The study found significant differences between the control and experimental groups in the areas of pain, numbness, heartburn and dizziness. The practice of Chan-Chuang qigong improved symptom distress and part of the psychological distress during chemotherapy. Chen,et al. [51] examined the effects that qigong had on 96 women between the ages of 25 and 64 who were receiving radiotherapy (RT) for breast cancer at a treatment facility in Shanghai, China. The study was conducted in collaboration with faculty from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Women in the qigong group practiced qigong five days a week for 40 minutes over a 5 or 6-week period while undergoing RT. The classes were conducted by a Chinese physician and qigong master, who also gave them DVDs and written instructions, and encouraged them to practice at home on the two days a week when they did not meet with the qigong master. The kind of qigong practiced was a modified form of qigong that was developed by were no significant differences in the physical, social/familial, or emotional well-being subscale scores between the experimental and control groups, the experimental group had higher functional well-being subscale scores (p = 0.012) and lower breast cancer specific concern subscale scores (p = 0.036) than the control group. The quality-of-life scores were also significantly higher for the experimental group. The study concluded that tai chi qigong training might improve overall shoulder strength and functional well-being of breast cancer survivors.

Cognitive Impairment and Cancer
Campbell, et al. [87] studied the effects of various kinds of exercise, including qigong, on cancer-related cognitive impairment.
They studied and synthesized the results of 29 trials. Their conclusion was that more targeted research is needed. Myers, et al.
[88] conducted a study evaluating the feasibility of an eight-week qigong intervention to assess cognitive function in breast cancer survivors who were two months to eight years post completion of radiation and chemotherapy. The study found that cognitive function improved the most for the qigong group (p=0.01). The conclusion was that mindfulness exercise may be superior to either gentle exercise alone or survivorship support. However, after 24 weeks, the exercise group had significantly better results (p < 0.01). The study concluded that baduanjin exercises can relieve CFR, can improve their physical activity level and their sleep quality. Yan,et al. [93] found that qigong has potent cytotoxic effect on HT-29 cells.

Depression and Cancer
Several studies cited elsewhere in this paper have found that the use of qigong or tai chi has reduced depression in cancer

Dyspnea and Cancer
Henshall, Allin and Aveyard [94] examined numerous prior studies and found that an exercise regimen often had a significant effect on reducing dyspnea (shortness of breath).

Fall Prevention and Cancer
Fong, et al. [

Fatigue and Cancer
The practice of tai chi and qigong has been shown to reduce fatigue in a variety of cancer patients. Arring, et al.

Insomnia and Cancer
Several recent studies have found that tai chi and qigong can improve the quality of sleep in a variety of cancer patients [113-119].

Joint Mobility
Fong, et al [113] found that a six-month tai chi qigong program improved joint mobility in nasopharyngeal cancer survivors.

Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Chuang, Yeh and Chung [128] found that a 21-day Chan-Chuang Qigong program improved the health status of non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients receiving chemotherapy.

Pain Management
Several studies in addition to those mentioned above have found that tai chi and qigong can aid in pain management of cancer

Recovery and Cancer
Several studies have found that the practice of tai chi and qigong can aid in recovery [163][164][165].

Rehabilitation
Studies have found that the practice of tai chi and qigong can aid in the rehabilitation.

Other Cancer Research
Readers who are interested in additional studies of the effects of tai chi and qigong on cancer patient treatment can find a listing at the end of the reference section .

Conclusion
The evidence is clear that the practice of tai chi and qigong can aid in alleviating the negative effects of cancer treatment and can improve patient health in several ways.

Conflict of Interest
There is no conflict of interest. Robert